Nantucket Superior Court Judge Maureen Hogan has issued a permanent injunction barring longtime pilot and island homeowner Robert T. “Bob” Walsh from flying in or out of Nantucket Memorial Airport. The ruling, handed down Thursday, followed a multi-year dispute between Walsh and the Nantucket Airport Commission over what the airport described as “unauthorized activity” and repeated violations of no trespass orders. The court’s order prohibits Walsh from piloting aircraft to or from the airport or entering any non-public areas, except as a commercial passenger, according to the judgment obtained by the Nantucket Current.
The airport commission filed suit in February 2022, alleging that since 2018 Walsh had flown into the airport in “an increasingly erratic fashion” and disregarded operational restrictions. The complaint detailed incidents in which Walsh landed without permission, ignored access limits, and on several occasions taxied across grass areas or parked in unassigned spaces with limited clearance from other aircraft.
In its filing, the commission said the pattern of conduct “diverted airport resources” and posed safety risks. Walsh has denied many of the allegations, arguing the airport exceeded its jurisdiction and asserting that none of his FAA licenses, medical certificate or airport badge have been revoked. He told the Current he intends to appeal the decision.
Walsh’s history with the airport includes operating the former air charter service Nantucket Express from 2005 until its FAA certificate was revoked in 2020. Records show a series of safety and security incidents at the airport from 2018 to 2021, leading to escalating restrictions and eventual bans. The commission said the FAA was kept informed throughout, though the agency labeled the matter a local safety and security issue.
While some island residents have criticized Walsh’s conduct, others recall his past role in assisting patients and those in need of urgent transportation off-island, often without charge. “He often worked outside of the norms,” longtime acquaintance Bill Ferrall told the Current, “but he was a go-to guy for many people in crisis.”
US pilots don’t have “licenses” they have pilot certificates.
This guy sounds like a real peach…
I think he checks most of the attitudes that can kill you boxes.
Could age be a factor? Doesn’t sound like rational behavior to me.
Interesting. It seems to have some of the attributes of the guy who crashed a TBM 700 in Montana recently and destroyed at least one other aircraft. His approaches were atypical.
All valid, but I query where the Airport Commission has the legal authority to ban a user.
If the airport is private then I could see it, but a “Commision” denotes a public use, and if they have accepted federal funds then they are subject to FAA regulations.
An Airport Commission typically looks after land use, operations and improvements, not deciding about the conduct of a certificated pilot.
This is the first that I have heard of an airport commission regulating a member of the public who holds a pilot’s certificate.
A tiny bit of research would at least trigger a minor need to dig a bit deeper on Mr Walsh’s ordeal with this particular airport “authority”. Once you read, the case isn’t as cut & dry as it appears on the outside.
Is it reporting? Yes.
Wouldn’t landing without permission at a towered airport be an FAA issue rather than an airport management one?
I am questioning whether there is actually any safety angle to this story.
And since when do we ever seek “permission” to land? Not a thing. A clearance is not permission. Nobody needs permission to land. It is inevitable, as y’all know well.
If he had failed to seek a required clearance, then maybe the FAA would take certificate action, but as there is no mention of that in the story, I assume that did not happen.
Given very limited facts, I find “not guilty” and I bet the good folks on the KACK airport authority, whoever they are, just have some beef with this guy. If same were to happen to anyone else on this forum, I would hope we would at least seek clarification or withhold judgement. Or at least not pile on. Right?
Sorry, not seeing a smoking gun here.
Kevin, I think you are inferring or maybe guessing a bit.
What exactly did this pilot do to evidence bad ADM?
Nothing in the article about losing his medical. Without more reportage, I think y’all are jumping to conclusions.
I too question the judge’s authority in this case. He has a valid certificate. Airport authorities are not in charge of regulating airmanship.
His described behavior is evident of bad ADM.
This is the number one item that tells you that. Rather obvious really.
“Anti-Authority. Attitude: “The rules don’t apply to me”.
The rest fit as well.
Agree. That is the recipe for disaster and quite possibly tragedy. He sounds like a good guy but he’s not thinking about others with that kind of conduct. It’s natural for people to want to rebel against authority and our logic is supposed to shut that down. However, he is letting his emotions control his actions. This behavior should be effecting his pilots certificate in my opinion. Is this going to be another airports problem now? The safety risks are still there. The rules and policies arent there beacause the “the governent” wants to turn people into sheep, it’s there for yours and everyones safety. There isn’t any room for FAFO in aviation.
Hold on right there! FAA issues and revokes pilot certificates based upon the judgement of FAA safety inspectors (which they explicitly declined to do in this case, btw). Also, there is the PBR. Before you drop the guillotine on this pilot, please take a look at the following excerpt of the court filings by the airport authority against him:
"…ignored taxi instructions issued by ATC. A transcript of communications
reads as follows:
ATC 3:12 “Twin Cessna N4O2NX taxi to the ramp via Charlie”
Walsh 3:16 “Charlie willing to use Foxtrot also”
ATC 3:19 “Charlie Foxtrot to the ramp approved.”."
Now, please! I ask you. Are these the people you think should sit in judgement of you and me when it comes to airmanship and safety?
I don’t think so. Unless you want to empower every podunk airport management employee to stop anyone on this forum from operating on the air side of a field near you, on the vaguest whim or misunderstanding, or outright ignorance of what does or does not constitute a bona fide safety violation (or some personal beef). If they want to ban him from the airport restaurant, that’s their business.
And he doesn’t sound like a good guy to me. He sounds like a PTA. And that is exactly why the PBR exists.
Think about it.
In the judgement of who? A civil law judge who knows nothing of aviation safety? Or of a Nantucket cop? Or, some town elected official? FAA looked at it and declined to revoke. So, Kevin, to whom exactly do you want to extend the right to ground you or me? I’ll take my chances with the FAA over any local yocal, thanks.
Not justice. This is exactly why we have the PBR.
A lot of stawman and hyperbole to unpack there.
I never said anything about any of the points you have made.
I never mentioned anything about grounding anyone.
I made an observation based on the information presented.
This pilot has issues. It may not end well or nothing will happen.
No strawman. They got a judge to sign an order banning him from the airport. After the FAA declined to take action on his certificate.
Not hyperbole. Can you respond to the proposal that we should have thousands of agencies able to stop you exercising your privileges instead of just one? Would you?
Yes, it would. Some on the forum feel that every local airport authority should sit in judgement of whether a safety rule was violated instead of letting the FAA handle that.
To clarify, the “permission” they mention was not a case of failing to get a clearance. They tried to ban him by requiring him to “get permission” from the airport authority before every operation. Needless to say, they do not have that authority on the air side, as long as they take federal money…
So, even after the FAA declined to revoke his certificate, you think the Nantucket locals should be able to stop him from flying? Is that it? If so, why?
If one follows the saga back into 2018 and finds all the various documents on file with the FAA, it looks like someone of “authority” and very special at the Nantucket airport had some beef with Mr. Walsh.
Okay, now I get it. I thought this forum was still mainly about aviation. No. It’s gone full over into politics.
Disregard.
I’m wondering how much research those talking about looking below the surface have done. I’ve read the full court decisions, both the preliminary injunction issued 3 years ago and the final one issued last week. They are publicly available on the Massachusetts Court’s website.
I love the part where he gives his security access credentials to a convicted drug dealer. Admitting this, Walsh’s response was, “Hey, they let him in!” All the other things they claim he did? Like leaving the passenger and disabled airplane for others to take care of? Or having his air carrier certificate revoked for multiple safety violations? Or flying after the revocation of his medical certificate? Also a better of record or admitted.
So… the FAA didn’t really decline his certificate. They did revoke his certificate according to the article yoy supposedly just read:
“Walsh’s history with the airport includes operating the former air charter service Nantucket Express from 2005 until its FAA certificate was revoked in 2020.”
“‘Nantucket Express operated in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of others,’ the FAA said when issuing the notice of revocation."
The FAA is also incredibly understaffed right now due to (idiotic) budget cuts. So they just don’t have the budget to look into cases like this properly on their own… which is why they literally said that it is now a local safety issue:
“The airport has continued to update the Federal Aviation Administration on the matter, prompting the FAA to tell the airport this is now a local safety and security issue.”
Also… his violations are pretty egregious, here are a few listed in an update article and records:
Using his lawyer to lie about federal orders to obtain permission to fly
“Walsh was permitted to fly out of the airport after Papcsy falsely claimed to police that a January 2021 document from the FAA determined Walsh could not be banned from utilizing the airport”
Impersonating another pilot:
“Walsh flew into the airport using an aircraft owned by a different pilot and did not radio to airport operations for parking. Walsh eventually had no choice but to reveal his true identity and radio into the FBO to request assistance because his aircraft had a flat tire.”
Reckless driving
“Walsh proceeded to taxi his aircraft adjacent to a private hangar, unguided, and only left an estimated 15’ of wingtip clearance between his aircraft and the building. The FAA minimum is 45’ in order to ensure enough space for emergency vehicles”
Obstructing a runway with a disabled plane
“In August of 2018, Walsh experienced a flat tire while landing at the airport, left the aircraft on the runway, and departed the airport with another aircraft. He left behind the disabled aircraft, an airplane seat on the taxiway, and a passenger in the aircraft.”
Improper/unsanitary disposal of human waste:
“On April 26, 2019, Walsh urinated on the airfield in the presence of three FAA inspectors and dumped a full urinal onto the airfield grass.”
Evading fees
“Walsh was seen by airport employees picking up passengers in an area he wasn’t allowed to be and departed without paying a landing fee or ramp fee for the trip.”
Possibly was an accomplice in a drug trafficking incident
“In 2019 it was determined following an investigation by the Flight Standards Service Department of the Federal Aviation Administration that on March 24, 2018, an individual with a federal criminal record involving trafficking drugs by aircraft used Walsh’s credentials. The airport proceeded to revoke Walsh’s airport access badge and not renew their agreement with Walsh following this investigation.”
Improper communication with operations
“On July 14, 2021, the airport says Walsh’s actions escalated. Instead of contacting airport operations when he landed, he taxied across a grass island and into a parking position adjacent to the FBO without any supervision.”
There’s a lot of documented evidence for all of this too. Like… there’s CCTV footage and/or credible witnesses for everything described. It’s honestly a wonder that he has managed to keep his licenses for as long as he did.
His pilot certificate was never revoked by the FAA. Again, the FAA, the agency responsible for policing aviation safety never revoked his pilot certificate. If some company he was associated with lost its certificate, that is not the same as him losing his pilot certificate.
He is still qualified to operate the aircraft indicated on his pilot certificate subject to many other FAA restrictions and rules.
Don’t you think that if the FAA had a good excuse to pull his certificate they would have done so? They could not find a good reason to because there is none. Nobody likes the guy. But he obviously knows where the line is in terms of safety or he would have lost his ticket. He has not.
Those eager to stand with the airport folks are locals who just don’t like the guy (somewhat understandably) or folks who do not understand who is in charge of aviation safety, or who have politics as a higher priority.
Do you want to pull the certificate of everyone on this forum who parked a plane withing 45 feet of a building? Please address this question.
If the FAA caught him flying an aircraft requiring a medical without one, they very likely would have taken action against his certificate. They did not do that.
Why?
Maybe because it never happened like that. Most of the accusations are made by people who are not FAA safety inspectors. Just folks around the airport (who don’t like him, for obvious reasons).
I am still waiting for someone to say what is documented by the FAA to have happened that proves his airmanship lacking. Waiting…
You never let a tire cross grass that someone might have objected to? Should we revoke everyone who has let rubber touch grass, say, in order to untangle a dicey parking situation. Nothing like that ever happen to you? If so, either you only operate huge airplanes, or never operate near any grass, or you just haven’t flown enough yet…
I am unaware of an FAR prohibiting tires from touching grass. Please tell me where that appears in cfr 14.91. Oh, you can’t…